Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. Those spaces look pretty small to me.”
“That’s why I like colored pencils better than crayons,” she reminded him.
“Let me try it. Sometimes I need a challenge,” Terry shared.
Kiki knew he wasn’t just talking about the difficulty of filling in the tiny spots on the design. “Is it worth taking more time?”
“Very definitely,” he confirmed with a wink.
Feeling more positive than she had for a long time, Kiki flipped through the coloring book in front of her to find a page she thought he might like. She angled her selection his way to check for his approval.
“That one is perfect. Thank you, Bumblebee.”
“Bumblebee? That’s a cute name. My Daddy calls me Rainbow,” Ellie shared.
“Aren’t bees the hardest working animals?” Daisy asked. “They’re so important for pollinating flowers.”
“And making honey!” Tori pointed out. “Have you ever eaten baklava?”
“It’s so gooey with honey but still crisp. How do they do that?” Riley asked.
Kiki breathed out a sigh of relief. The group hadn’t asked her a thousand questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Nor had they continued to focus on her. She had never met a group more accepting than these Littles. They really didn’t care as long as everyone was happy.
She peeked over at Terry’s handsome face and found him watching her. With a grin, Kiki impishly plucked the blue-colored pencil from his hand. There were other shades she could have used to decorate the sky, but she wanted to use the one he obviously liked.
“I see I’ll need to teach you to share,” Terry informed her in a low, deep statement meant only for her ears.
Something in his tone clued her in that he wasn’t talking about pencils, and there was an intimate undertone to his words. Wrinkling her nose at him to challenge his words, Kiki turned back to coloring, intimately aware of his warmth next to her. She didn’t know when he’d decide to teach her that lesson, but suddenly she couldn’t wait.
Chapter Three
“What do you think?” Kiki asked the young woman in her chair as she handed her a mirror to look at the back of her hair. It looked magnificent to the skilled hairstylist—all the shimmering strands blended together into a beautiful combination that looked natural but better.
“How do you do this, Kiki? It’s absolutely gorgeous! I’m so lucky I found you,” the pleased woman gushed.
“Just pass my name along to anyone looking for a new stylist. I’ll make them look just a shade less stunning than you,” Kiki promised, evoking a laugh from her long-time client.
In a few minutes, she’d walked the woman to the front desk to pay and came back to her station with a sizable tip. Feeling like whistling, Kiki quickly cleaned up her station as she checked the time. That had been her last customer scheduled for the day.
Heading to the back so the owner wouldn’t see her to pass off a walk-in, Kiki folded towels and restocked the shampoo to take up the last few minutes. Clocking out, she grabbed her things and headed for the front door.
“Hey, Kiki. Before you go, this client is looking for a great new look. I told her you were our go-to expert for reinventing oneself,” Louisa, her manager, told her effusively.
“Hi.” Kiki stopped to greet the older woman with gray hair. It was a drab color with no life. Even the snazziest of cuts wouldn’t make those strands come to life. She plopped down on the seat next to her.
“What’s your name?”
“Betsy Miller. I’m a mess. I know.”
“You’re not looking your best, but I can help you take care of that. You need a new shampoo that will turn this gray into the foxy silver color that turns heads.”
“That doesn’t happen naturally?” Betsy asked.
“Not for most people. They just know the secret to the purple shampoo. It works magically. You need a fresh cut as well. This isn’t flattering to the shape of your face. Do you have something special happening today that you need a redo immediately?” Kiki probed.
“Not really. I’m just going home to my cat, Sylvester. He doesn’t care what my hair looks like.”
“Well, we do. I’d like to take some time with you. Can we make an appointment in the next couple of days so I can dedicate my attention to you?” Kiki asked.
“I’d love that. Could I get some of that magical shampoo today to try?”
“Of course. That would be great to help us see what the potential is going to be when you use it regularly,” Kiki rose and led Betsy to the scheduler and explained what they needed.
Within minutes, Betsy left smiling with a package and an appointment in two days.
Kiki caught a glimpse of the clock and grabbed her things from the waiting area. “Got to go. Thanks for your help,” she called to the receptionist.